1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to novel thiocarbamates of aminoalkanols and pharmaceutically useful salts thereof, useful in the treatment of the diseases of the central nervous system. More particularly, the present invention relates to racernic mixture or enantiomerically enriched O-thiocarbamoyl-aminoalkanol compounds and pharmaceutically useful salts thereof, processes for their production, compositions thereof and methods of treating central nervous system disorders.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Phenylethylamine derivatives, one important class of therapeutical medicines useful in managing central nervous system (CNS) diseases, have been used mainly to treat obesity, narcolepsy, minimal brain dysfunction and mild depression.
Organic thiocarbwnates or carbamates have been effectively used for controlling various CNS disorders. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,901,501 discloses 1,3-dithiocarbamoyl-1,3-propanediols that are further substituted at position-2 with hydrocarbon based moieties that include aryl groups. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 73, 5779 (1951) discloses 2-methyl-2-propyl-1,3-propandiol dicarbamate and its pharmaceutical activity was verified in J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., 104, 229 (1952). Besides, there are many carbamate compounds that are suggested as therapeutics for CNS disease in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,884,444 and 2,937,119 disclose carbamates, such as 2-phenyl-1,3-propandiol dicarbamate and isopropylmeprobamate, respectively. These compounds are found to be very effectively used as therapeutics for treating CNS disorders, especially as antiepileptic and centrally acting muscle relaxants. Research in the development of thiocarbamate or carbamate therapeutics for CNS diseases has been and continues to be actively advanced.
Recent design of pharmacologically useful compounds has been based on amino acids or the derivatives thereof, which is mainly attributable to the fact that many of the compounds found in biological systems come from amino acids or the derivatives thereof In addition, in most cases, the function of a pharmaceutically usefuil compound is effected after it binds to an enzyme or receptor, which may trigger the regulatory mechanisms of the enzyme or receptor.